Public speaking & debating coaching · Sydney Speaking & debating · Sydney
One-on-one and small-group coaching that takes primary and high school students from shaky palm cards to commanding the room, built on real, current competition experience.
Our Courses
Both draw on the same current competition experience, and both run one-on-one or as a small group. We take complete beginners through to advanced competitors, and school teams are welcome.
For first-time speakers finding their feet, and for competitors sharpening a routine that already wins.
From a first school trial to advanced competitors, built around the NSW formats and adjudication standards they actually compete under.
What We Coach
Building a case from scratch: framing the topic, choosing the strongest material, and structuring speeches that adjudicators can follow and reward.
Turning a claim into a mechanised, evidenced, weighed argument, then learning to dismantle the other side's case at the point where it matters most.
Thinking on your feet with one hour of prep, or one minute. Frameworks for short-prep debating, impromptu speeches and rapid rebuttal.
Voice, pace, palm cards, eye contact and presence. The manner skills that make a nervous speaker composed, and a composed speaker compelling.
Our Process
Send an enquiry with your child's school, experience and goals, whether that's making the A team, winning a competition, or simply speaking without fear.
A first session tailored to those goals, so you can see the coaching style and we can map exactly where the biggest gains are.
Regular sessions, individually or as a group, with practice speeches, mock debates and structured feedback that shows up in real rounds.
Coaching a school team or a group of friends? We build the programme around the group rather than running the same lesson twice.
Meet Our Team
Every coach at Apex is a recent competitor and champion with state and national experience, across both the public and private school systems. The advice your child gets is what is winning rounds right now, not what worked a decade ago.
Founder & Head Coach
Debating Captain at North Sydney Boys High School, with deep experience of the public school circuit. Jayden teaches from four years of coaching and dozens of students, adapting each session to the speaker in front of him rather than running a fixed script, and is known for explaining difficult ideas clearly. He founded Apex Speaking in 2025 to give younger students the mentoring he wishes he'd had earlier: rigorous on argument, honest in feedback, and genuinely invested.
Achievements
Co-Founder & Head of Debating
A passionate debater who has competed for Trinity Grammar School and now debates for North Sydney Boys High School, alongside prestigious external competitions. Orlando teaches through a systematic method that pairs core debating principles with real content, structured by speaking role, so it introduces beginners to the fundamentals while still sharpening speakers competing at a high level.
Achievements
Sessions
About Apex
Coaching in this space has barely changed in twenty years: retired coaches, generic worksheets, and advice that stopped being true a decade ago. Apex was built to replace that, with coaches who are still winning at state and national level, a method structured by speaking role, and money that goes back into the competitions themselves.
Every coach is a current competitor and champion with state and national experience, across both public and private school systems, so the advice reflects what wins rounds now.
A systematic approach structured by speaking role, pairing core debating principles with real content. It introduces beginners to the fundamentals and still sharpens speakers competing at a high level.
We donate a portion of our revenue to Rostrum, run our own competitions and practice rounds, and offer scholarships so cost never decides who gets to become a confident speaker.
“It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it is because we do not dare that they are difficult.”
— Seneca, Moral Letters to Lucilius
FAQ
Both. One-on-one is the fastest way to fix a specific speaker's weaknesses, and small groups work well for school teams or friends who compete together. Group sessions are built around that particular group rather than following a fixed script.
Sessions run online, so students anywhere in Australia can train with us. They run for two hours on Saturdays and Sundays during the day, and are adaptable to what the student needs on the day.
Before we start we ask about your child's school, their experience so far, and what they want to achieve. The first session is then built around those goals, so you can see the coaching style and we can work out where the biggest gains are.
Rates depend on the format and whether sessions are individual or group, so we quote them directly. Get in touch and you'll have an answer the same day. Scholarships are available for students who show real promise.
Yes. Team coaching is one of the main things we do: case prep, full mock debates, speaker roles and individual feedback for everyone in the team. Send through your team's year level and competition and we'll put a programme together.
Enquiries
Tell us your child's year level, experience and what you'd like them to achieve, or ask about coaching for a school team or group. Enquiring is free and we reply within 24 hours.
or email directly: apexspeakingadmin@gmail.com
Tell us who we're coaching and which course you're after. Enquiring is free and we reply within 24 hours.
Your enquiry is in. Jayden will reply within 24 hours with times that suit and what the first session will cover.